Study ranks Midland as fifth in nation for affordability

Published 2:30 pm, Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Midland is in the rankings again, this time sitting at No. 5 for most affordable place in the nation, according to a NerdWallet study.

The Tall City scored 122 on the income index (100 is the national average), while scoring below the national averages for the cost of living, grocery, housing and utilities indices.

Odessa placed No. 21 out of the 100 listed cities, scoring 103 on the income index and a 104 for the housing index. Odessa’s housing index score is 7 points higher than Midland’s.

NerdWallet used the Council for Community and Economic Research’s 2014 cost of living index (COLI) to assess the cost of the cities and compared the COLI to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

The NerdWallet study concluded that wealthier areas are more affordable, saying that the gains from an increased median income offset the rise in the cost of living. They also said not all things are equal when it comes to costs, making the example that, while groceries might be expensive, housing might be less expensive.

In the case of Midland, the city’s higher income rating, based off the median household income of $63,819, assumes that residents have more money to spend on their cost of living index, which NerdWallet claims falls below the national average by 3 percentage points. The only cost that ranks higher than the national average is transportation at 102.

Two other Texas cities ranked in the top five, with Plano taking the No. 1 spot and Round Rock the No. 3 rank. Lubbock came in at No. 55, while Abilene and Houston were No. 99 and No. 100, respectively.

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Midland in recent rankings

- Midland County had a 7.4-percent job gain year over year from September 2013 to September 2014, ranking second in the nation behind Weld, Colorado. (BLS report released March 31)

- In the third quarter of 2014, Midland had the highest average weekly wage among Texas’ largest counties at $1,256. (BLS report released March 31)

- Midland ranked sixth in the nation for wage growth between the third quarter of 2013 and the third quarter of 2014 with a 6.8 percent growth. (BLS report released March 31)